Publication: South Florida Success Magazine
Issue: Volume Two/ Issue Six
Business Feature (Black Executive Forum)
By Rochelle Oliver

      Keeping Black Professionals in Miami

      South Florida comes with an endless amount of
sun and sand. But is the tropical backdrop enough to
keep Black professionals rooted in Miami? The Black
Executive Forum (BEF), an organization that focuses
on keeping talented and highly skilled Blacks in the
area, says it’s not.

      “When I first came down here, Miami was pretty
much a tough place for Black folks. The good-old-boys
network was heavily in place,” said John G. Beckford,
President and Chairman of the Black Executive
Forum.  Beckford moved to Miami in 1981, and he
remembers what was missing. “What we lacked was
something at a high executive level that could embrace
Black professional folks.”

      The Black Executive Forum came to existence in
1995 – a sort of domino affect transpiring after Miami’s
three-year-Black-boycott – a reaction to city officials
giving Nelson Mandela a cold-shoulder-greeting, along
with local Blacks wanting a fair share in the tourist
industry, and in the overall community.

      While there are other organizations that implement
networking or volunteerism as a main platform, the
Black Executive Forum’s emphasis is on creating a
sense of belonging and connection to the community.
At the Forum, a hand-picked group of people partake
in the Batten Fellow program, named after the late
CEO of Knight Ridder, and founder of the Executive
Forum, James Batten.

      Over a nine-week period, the Batten Fellow
program incorporates a variety of business-orientated
workshops covering Networking, Team Building,
Leadership, and Workplace Dynamics. Each week, a
panel discussion takes place with notable local Blacks,
who’ve found professional success in South Florida
while also establishing a rewarding and quality-filled
life in the area.

      Joel Eigege, Senior Financial Analyst at Ryder
Systems Inc., has lived in Miami for three months, and
is currently a 2006 Batten Fellow. For him, the
organization has been life changing. “It creates a
sense that I’m not alone,” said the Nigerian-born
Eigege. In the last five years, he’s moved at least five
times. And for the first time, he is actually at a place he
can call home.

      “Not so many programs are geared toward
developing you as a leader, as a professional, and
also developing you as a person who is influential in
the community,” explains Eigege.

      Being a Batten Fellow is not all about business. As
part of the program, students attend receptions and
partake in other fun, cultural activities, like the
Historical Black Miami city bus tour. One of Eigege’s
favorite events was when each Fellow was asked to
bring in two of their favorite magazines. They were
given 20 minutes to make a collage that reflected who
they are.

      “I found out so much about people in the class.
You never really get a chance to know professionals
on a personal level,” said Eigege. Beyond the
professional shell of suits and ties, Batten Fellows
have the opportunity to connect on a human level as
well.

      Results such as Eigege’s prove the Black
Executive Forum is making a difference in the lives of
Black professionals. But is it enough?

      “The tragedy in Miami is that we lose some of the
sharpest Black professionals because they don’t feel
like they can make it in Miami, personally, and
professionally,” explains Marvenia Fowler, Executive
Director of the Black Executive Forum. Fowler also
supervises each event.

      Numbers gathered from the Census Bureau, show
that in the year 2000, Blacks made up 20.3 percent of
Miami-Dade County, which is .2 percent lower than in
1990. In the year 2005, according to the census,
percentages dropped even further to 19.7 percent.
Why are Blacks leaving?

      Unlike major cities such as Atlanta, DC, Chicago
and New York, where vibrant, Black, middle-class
communities exist, Blacks in Miami can feel at a social
disadvantage.

      “You can have a great job, but when you get off,
you’re still not happy. Who loses? They lose out
because they want to stay here, and we lose business-
wise. The corporations are going to recruit people, and
if Blacks don’t get the job, they’re going to give them to
other groups,” said Fowler.

      Up to this point, the Black Executive Forum has
graduated over 180 Batten Fellows. To apply to be a
Batten Fellow, all applicants have to be nominated by
a corporation, or through a self-nomination process.
Most of the Batten Fellows, board members say, are
still living in South Florida.

      Co-founder James Champion, who has lived in
Miami for 21 years, has witnessed the shades of Miami
change for the better. “When I see the alums going on
and becoming Vice Presidents and stepping out on
their own, that’s exciting,” said Champion. From a front
row perspective, he can attest to the specific results of
the Forum. “There’s better teamwork, synergy and
understanding.”

      The results are in: the Black Executive Forum is
keeping professionals in Miami. Champion reiterates
part of the message of the Executive Forum: “Blacks
are critical to the success of this community. Latins
and White folks do good things, but one should not
exclude us. African-Americans have been here for a
long time…and we’re here to stay.”